Mark Cuban: I Don’t Want to Get Fined

Now, at the wisened age of 51, Cuban more than once smiles at a question and says, “I don’t want to get fined.” From all private accounts, he is still pushing the envelope behind the NBA’s doors, but more of Mark Cuban lives off the record these days.

“When I got into the Mavs, I was like other young people in that situation,” he said as his team warmed up behind him. “I just wanted to take over the world. But you can only bang your head for so long before you realize you’re just leaving a mark on your head.”

He has waged a campaign to overhaul the league’s officiating system, and he was scouting referees’ tendencies long before disgraced former NBA official Tim Donaghy made such charges. Cuban is well aware that the NBA is terribly sensitive to this subject now, and he refuses to get deeply into the issue.